Teaching across Cultures

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1 Teaching across Cultures

3 Teaching across Cultures Building Pedagogical Relationships in Diverse Contexts Chinwe H. Ikpeze St John Fisher College, Rochester, NY, USA

4 A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: (paperback) ISBN: (hardback) ISBN: (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved 2015 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.

5 This book is dedicated to my husband, Mr. Okey Ikpeze, and our four wonderful children: Obidi, Chuka, Adaobi, and Chiamaka. Your unflinching love, support, and encouragement were a huge source of inspiration. You are my biggest cheerleaders and the reason my life is meaningful. Thank you for believing in me. I want to also thank Barbara Zinker, a dear family friend, for her enthusiasm and support.

7 Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction xi xiii Chapter 1: Teaching as a Cultural Artifact 1 Introduction 1 Understanding Culture 2 Culture and Teaching 4 Perspectives on Culture 5 Cultural Assumptions and Practices 8 Cultural Politics and Education 9 Toward (Inter) Cultural Competence in Teacher Education 9 Concluding Thoughts 10 Chapter 2: Self-Study: Studying Self and Others 13 Introduction 13 Self-Study in Teacher Education 14 Uncovering My Assumptions 15 Identifying Differences 17 Research Questions 19 Beliefs and Visions about Literacy Teacher Education 20 Why Teacher Educators Engage in Self-Study 21 Theoretical Framework 24 Minding the Gaps in Teaching and Learning 27 Concluding Thoughts 28 Chapter 3: Data Collection and Analysis 29 Introduction 29 Context of the Study 29 Characteristics of Self-Study Research Methods and Its Application to Current Study 31 Data Analysis 35 Conclusion 37 Chapter 4: Tensions in Teaching across Cultures 39 Introduction 39 Understanding Tensions 42 vii

8 Table of Contents Institutional Culture 42 The Entitlement Culture 47 The Digital Culture 49 Invisible Cultures 52 Classroom Cultures 53 Tensions across Situations and Differences 54 Relational Tensions 57 Concluding Thoughts 61 Chapter 5: Toward Responsive Pedagogy 63 Introduction 63 Understanding Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 64 Characteristics of Culturally Responsive Teachers 66 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Teacher Education 68 Approaches to Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Teacher Education 69 Rethinking Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 70 Toward Responsive Pedagogy in Teacher Education 72 Identifying the Gaps in Teaching and Learning 74 Closing the Gaps in Teaching and Learning 79 Responding to the Digital Culture through Technology Integration 87 Concluding Thoughts 91 Chapter 6: Building Relationships in Physical and Virtual Spaces 93 Introduction 93 Teaching as a Relational Process: Dimensions of Relationships 95 Building Relationship with Prospective Teachers 97 Student Reflections 98 Making My Personal Life Visible 106 Students Perceptions and Relationships 108 Individual Conferencing 109 Modeling Best Practice 110 Maintaining Academic Rigor 112 Negotiating Authority 117 The Student and Peer Context of Relationship Building 119 Unfriendly, Difficult, or Disruptive Students 120 Strategies for Dealing with Hard-to-Relate-to and Difficult Students 121 Small-Group Collaboration 123 Building Relationship in Virtual Spaces 127 Blogging as a Pedagogical Tool 128 Meet the Academic Blogger: The Case of Jackie 130 Other Individualized Blog Conversations 134 viii

9 Table of Contents s, Gratitude, and Teacher Student Relationships 137 Concluding Thoughts 139 Chapter 7: Teaching in the Third Space 141 Introduction 141 Theoretical Perspectives on Third Space 142 Social and Spatial Production of Space 143 Third Space, Globalization, and Teacher Education 144 Third Space and Teacher-Education Practices 145 Facilitating Prospective Teachers Learning in the Third Space 152 Concluding Thoughts 161 Chapter 8: Social and Professional Networks 163 Introduction 163 Professional Socialization 164 Professional Associations and Teacher-Educator Development 165 A Day at the Literacy Research Association Conference 167 Special-Interest Groups and the Professional Development of Educators 174 The Impact of Other Professional Associations 175 Concluding Thoughts 178 Chapter 9: Teaching across Cultures: Perspectives and Implications 179 Lessons Learned from Cumulative Self-Studies 179 Teaching across Cultures: Implications 184 Concluding Thoughts 191 References 193 Index 207 ix

11 Acknowledgments This book would not be possible without my graduate students especially those who generously agreed to participate in the studies that led to this book. Many of you were wonderful students, very friendly, open, and passionate about teaching and about your teacher. Your love and admiration were palpable. To this group, I cannot thank you enough. You made my life worthwhile; you believed in me and reminded me that I made the right professional choice. You also were eager to make me happy, which I very much appreciated. You taught me not to make assumptions and not to generalize about students a very important lesson for me. There is yet another group. This group consists of students who challenged me, behaved in ways that I could not understand, and made classroom interaction unpredictable. Still, I owe you no less appreciation than the first group because I became a better and more reflective teacher educator because of you; it was my quest to understand your needs and get an insight into your behaviors, attitudes, and learning challenges that I was inspired to engage in a self-study. My knowledge of teacher education may have remained static if not for you. It was a privilege to be your teacher, and I am grateful for the opportunity. xi

13 INTRODUCTION We live in an era in which higher education has become increasingly international: millions of students leave their home countries to study each year, faculty are increasingly mobile and academic research is not bound by national borders. Consequently, college classrooms are becoming increasingly internationalized in terms of both teachers and students. Due to the increase in international students, educational exchange programs, and study-abroad programs, among others, crosscultural classrooms are seen and experienced everywhere. Besides, globalization and the global flows of culture, technology, trade, and industry as well as the global competitive economic market, and other forms of international cooperation have created a situation where cultural forms move, change, and are reused, and identities are also becoming increasingly hybrid. Crossing cultural borders can prompt changes in how people think and act, allowing new cultural norms to emerge. As people from multiple cultures and communities interact, cultural conflict arising from different beliefs or practices becomes inevitable. This necessitates that educators learn how to navigate teaching in such contexts. As the society becomes increasingly diverse, so is the faculty body in many higher institutions and schools of education. Educational, social, and economic developments across the globe necessitate rethinking some of the cultures, epistemologies, and pedagogies that inform the preparation of teachers. In the United States, the literature on teacher education is almost saturated with accounts of pre-service teachers navigating culturally responsive teaching in urban multicultural and multilingual classrooms, the challenges that they faced, and how teacher education can better prepare them to face the realities of teaching in a pluralistic society. If we flip the coin, we get the other side of the story how foreign-born faculty of color teach prospective teachers who happen to be predominantly white, middle-class students; how these faculty navigate and negotiate their learning environments, new cultures, in addition to learning to be good teachers of teachers. This group of educators encounters similar challenges as their white middle-class counterparts who teach in multicultural and multilingual classrooms, or other educators who teach in contexts where they are cultural outsiders. Like their white counterparts in K-12 settings, they also have had limited experience with people from other cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Although the contexts of teaching in K-12 and college settings are different, those who teach as cultural outsiders tend to face similar issues around cultural navigation, identity perception and relationship issues. For African-born educators, the challenge of teaching as racial minorities could not be less daunting. Massive ignorance about Africa and its diverse population, and the perception of Africa as poor and backward, results in deficit perceptions of African-born educators. Unless we understand these dynamics, our knowledge-base for teaching in a pluralistic society is skewed. xiii

14 Introduction Besides the issue of examining the experiences of a diverse population, moving teacher education forward requires that educators should constantly reflect on what they do and continuously refine the pedagogy of teacher education. Examining teacher educators learning and the growth of the candidates in their programs and the relation between the two is critical especially now that schools of education are grappling with the issue of accountability and program effectiveness (Darling- Hammond, 2010; National Council on Teacher Quality, 2013). Studying what goes on between teacher educators and prospective teachers through self-study and participating in different professional networks might accord teacher educators the opportunity to engage in personal, professional, and program renewals; and in so doing, refine their teaching visions and check consistency between practice and espoused beliefs. In addition, self-study highlights teacher educators voices and identities. Studying one s practice also helps teacher educators to come to terms with the contradictory realities of teaching and how to manage the tensions and dilemmas inherent in teaching and learning. A gap currently exists concerning teacher educators account of their interaction with students in cross-cultural settings. The book Teaching across Cultures: Building Relationships in Diverse Contexts fills this knowledge gap in that it succinctly chronicles an account of one teacher educator s teaching within a cross-cultural context. The book examines the tensions, uncertainties, as well as the possibilities for effective teaching across multiple cultural contexts, and posits that effective teaching can be achieved in such contexts by engaging in continuous learning through self-study and through professional networks, implementing responsive teaching, building relationships, and teaching in the third space. Each chapter of the book examined a different aspect of this topic. Chapter 1: This chapter examines teaching as a cultural artifact, the centrality of culture in teaching, and the need to refocus teacher education around cultural teaching and learning. Definitions of culture and approaches to culture over the years are highlighted. In addition, several cultural assumptions are examined. The chapter concludes by making a case for teacher educators to help prospective teachers acquire cultural and intercultural competence, and understand how culture shapes thinking and teaching. Chapter 2: This chapter centers on self-study, which involves studying self and others. The use of self-study as a conceptual framework for teacher educators to study their practice is discussed. The chapter offers some definitions of self-study and the various steps taken by the author in her self-study research. The interplay of self-study and transformation are examined. The chapter also highlights the gaps in teaching and learning, which are discussed later in the book. Chapter 3: This chapter on methods of data collection discusses the use of selfstudy as a methodological tool. Self-study as a methodology defines the focus of a study and not the way it is carried out; instead, self-study draws on data sources that are appropriate for examining issues, problems, or dilemmas that are of concern to teacher educators. The chapter discusses the context of the studies used for this book, the participants and various data collection techniques and analysis. xiv

15 Introduction Chapter 4: This chapter examines the tensions in teaching across cultures and focuses on the question: What are the tensions that teacher educators face especially those teaching as cultural outsiders? The chapter discusses these tensions and the cultures and situations that produce the tensions. The author argues that cultures are created through human activity and such actions that those in power take at any given time. Chapter 5: This chapter examines culturally responsive teaching and the need for responsive pedagogy in teacher education. The chapter details the actions taken by the author to implement responsive teaching. The author argues that educators should move toward responsive pedagogy and rethink the concept of culturally responsive teaching due to its problematic nature. Chapter 6: How can educators build relationships with their students in order to enhance effective teaching and learning? This chapter discusses the strategies for effective pedagogical relationships in physical and virtual spaces. It details the moment-by-moment interaction of the author and prospective teachers, the challenges in classroom interactions and how effective relationships can be used to manage such situations. Chapter 7: What is third space and does it matter in teaching and learning? This chapter delves into the concept of third space and its theoretical and practical applications in teaching and teacher education practices. The chapter discusses the significance of third space as a space for cultural negotiation, of possibilities, and the critical coming together of opposing viewpoints. Chapter 8: This chapter answers the question, What do social and professional networks have to do with teacher educator knowledge and the ability to teach across cultures? The chapter not only answers this question, but it also goes further to explain the influence of such networks in teacher educators social and emotional development. Chapter 9: This chapter brings all the chapters together, discusses their interconnection, and explores their implications for teaching and teacher education. The road to becoming an effective teacher educator may look deceptively easy and straightforward, yet; it is a complex work that involves navigating the curriculum, pedagogy, and research. Teaching in its entirety is a complex, ill-structured domain, with wide variability across contexts and situations. The double-faced contradictory realities of teaching teachers, demand much more intellectual investment than we currently admit. Understanding a teacher educator s work in its complexity rests in understanding the moment-by-moment decisions and interactions with students, and how those interactions are impacted by the various cultures in which the work of teachers takes place. xv

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